It’s happened to all of us -- someone puts a plate of food in front of us that we absolutely cannot bear to eat.

As children, our mothers forced us to eat the green stuff on the side of our plates because it was “good for us.” Now, as adults, we are constantly reminded of certain “healthy” foods that we should be eating but probably aren’t.

Healthy or not, there are some foods that, despite the wonders they do for our bodies, are downright disgusting.

We’re not talking about Brussels sprouts or lima beans -- we’re talking about foods that are hard to stomach. These foods will make you sick to look at and smell, but they are extraordinarily nutritious.

Read on to learn which foods top this disgusting-but-healthy list.

Oily fish: Herring, sardines and mackerel

An oily fish is any type of fatty fish, usually of the freshwater variety -- the most recognizable being salmon. But we’re not talking about salmon here…

Three oily fish that are disgusting but 100% healthy are herring, sardines and mackerel. If you’ve smelled any of these fish (fresh, pickled or cooked), you know why they top the list of healthy but disgusting foods.

Each member of this trio smells incredibly fishy -- so fishy, in fact, that if you were to take a bite of one and then touch your lips to a water glass, the entire glass would smell like fish even after you washed it.

In addition to the fishy smell, they have a very fishy taste and a slimy exterior that makes them difficult to eat or even look at.

If you can bear the smell, however, it’s in your best interest to eat them. Fish belonging to this group are very high in omega-3 fatty acids, which increase HDL (good) cholesterol and decrease LDL (bad) cholesterol. Furthermore, these “good fats” improve blood vessel function and reduce the risk of blood clots, thereby lowering the risk of heart disease. Most recently, these slimy guys have been shown to improve the overall health of those with diabetes.

Oily fish also provides a solid source of protein with very low saturated fat and calories.

Kimchee

You have probably never heard of kimchee.

Kimchee is the “macaroni and cheese” of Korea. It is a staple of the Korean diet and has become more mainstream in the U.S. in recent years. If you look for it in a regular grocery store, you will probably find it.

Kimchee is made of fermented cabbage and vegetables. During the fermentation process, a variety of bacterial reactions occur, giving kimchee its distinct taste and smell. More precisely, microbes break down complex compounds, converting them into simpler compounds, such as alcohol and carbon dioxide. These simpler compounds are toxic to microbes that destroy food, which means that fermentation acts as a food preservation method. Obviously, this process was invented before refrigerators.

If you are a virgin kimchee eater, let me describe it for you.

Kimchee smells like sweaty feet. What’s worse is that after you’ve eaten kimchee, you smell like sweaty feet; the combination of cabbage and pungent spices like garlic and chili peppers makes the smell ooze out of your pores long after you’ve eaten it.

If you and those around you can handle the smell (get your girlfriend to eat it when you do!), then go for it -- your body will thank you later.

Kimchee is made from a variety of fresh and nutritious ingredients like cabbage, vegetables, onion, garlic, and chili peppers. The cabbage is a great aid for constipation, so kimchee is often used to maintain regularity. Kimchee also contains high amounts of vitamins B and C, and is thought to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Beef brains

If you are not already turned off by the title of our next disgusting healthy food, then you have a stronger stomach than most.

You read it right: beef brains.

Beef brains are “disgusting” for the obvious reason that you are eating another animal’s brain. Aside from that, beef brains smell and look much different than other types of meat, and,if you do not eat your beef brains the day you purchase them, they’ll rot much faster than other types of meat you’re used to eating.

However, if you’re the adventurous type and think you can stomach brains, they have some redeeming health qualities. They are an excellent source of niacin, vitamin B12, vitamin C, and iron. Additionally, brains are high in protein, very low in calories and have no carbs, so they can be the perfect addition to your low-carb diet.

Marmite

If you’ve ever been friends with someone from the UK or Australia, chances are you have already come into contact with Marmite.

Marmite is a concentrated yeast paste, typically used as a spread on toast or on sandwiches, but it can also be added to stews or casseroles.

Although Brits and Aussies swear by the stuff, Marmite smells like old socks to most people. It also has an unusually thick consistency and tastes extremely salty.

Marmite manufacturers and those who consume it swear by its health benefits. It is 100% vegetarian and is a good source of vitamin B12, which has been shown to reduce the risk of anemia. It also provides riboflavin, niacin and folic acid, and is nearly fat- and sugar-free.

So, if you can handle spreading yeast on your bread in the morning, try Marmite. It’s a healthy alternative to sugary jams or fatty butter spreads.

Kimchi, yum, kimchi soup is awesome. And it does not smell like sweaty feet, not saying it smells good but it smells like kimchi and not sweaty feet,. Rotten cabbage maybe but not sweaty feet,.

Neural tissue of any kind is really not good to eat IMO. There are several verities of prion disease that are contracted by doing so, and cooking does not remove that risk. This includes all the kinds animals can get as well as people. And there is a history of this.

Kuru is the condition which first brought prion diseases to prominence in the 1950s. Found in geographically isolated tribes in the Fore highlands of New Guinea. Established that ingesting brain tissue of dead relatives for religious reasons was likely to be the route of transmission. They ground up the brain into a pale grey soup, heated it and ate it. Clinically, the disease resembles CJD. Other tribes in the vicinity with same religious habit did not develop the disease. It is speculated that at some point in the past a tribe member developed CJD, and as brain tissue is highly infectious this allowed the disease to spread. Afflicted tribes were encouraged not to ingest brain tissue and the incidence of disease rapidly declined and is now almost unknown.

Kimchi, yum, kimchi soup is awesome. And it does not smell like sweaty feet, not saying it smells good but it smells like kimchi and not sweaty feet,. Rotten cabbage maybe but not sweaty feet,.

Neural tissue of any kind is really not good to eat IMO. There are several verities of prion disease that are contracted by doing so, and cooking does not remove that risk. This includes all the kinds animals can get as well as people. And there is a history of this.

Agree on the prions. They absolutely freak me out because the diseases caused by them seem to come on decades after exposure and are so horrible.

As an Australian I would strongly advise against the marmite. Vegemite is the iconic Australian spread but marmite takes the most unpleasant element of the vegemite taste to an extreme that will make you cringe just thinking about it.

Kimchee is the “macaroni and cheese” of Korea. It is a staple of the Korean diet and has become more mainstream in the U.S. in recent years. If you look for it in a regular grocery store, you will probably find it.

Kimchee is made of fermented cabbage and vegetables. During the fermentation process, a variety of bacterial reactions occur, giving kimchee its distinct taste and smell. More precisely, microbes break down complex compounds, converting them into simpler compounds, such as alcohol and carbon dioxide. These simpler compounds are toxic to microbes that destroy food, which means that fermentation acts as a food preservation method. Obviously, this process was invented before refrigerators.

If you are a virgin kimchee eater, let me describe it for you.

Kimchee smells like sweaty feet. What’s worse is that after you’ve eaten kimchee, you smell like sweaty feet; the combination of cabbage and pungent spices like garlic and chili peppers makes the smell ooze out of your pores long after you’ve eaten it.

If you and those around you can handle the smell (get your girlfriend to eat it when you do!), then go for it -- your body will thank you later.

Kimchee is made from a variety of fresh and nutritious ingredients like cabbage, vegetables, onion, garlic, and chili peppers. The cabbage is a great aid for constipation, so kimchee is often used to maintain regularity. Kimchee also contains high amounts of vitamins B and C, and is thought to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Beef brains

If you are not already turned off by the title of our next disgusting healthy food, then you have a stronger stomach than most.

You read it right: beef brains.

Beef brains are “disgusting” for the obvious reason that you are eating another animal’s brain. Aside from that, beef brains smell and look much different than other types of meat, and,if you do not eat your beef brains the day you purchase them, they’ll rot much faster than other types of meat you’re used to eating.

However, if you’re the adventurous type and think you can stomach brains, they have some redeeming health qualities. They are an excellent source of niacin, vitamin B12, vitamin C, and iron. Additionally, brains are high in protein, very low in calories and have no carbs, so they can be the perfect addition to your low-carb diet.

I may be the resident drunk *******, but Kimchee ****n' rules and beef brains, well why is less disgusting to eat a cow's back than his head? Healthy is healthy.

As an Australian I would strongly advise against the marmite. Vegemite is the iconic Australian spread but marmite takes the most unpleasant element of the vegemite taste to an extreme that will make you cringe just thinking about it.

Is it any surpise I like it? We met some aussies, me and my friend, at the US open once yellingtheir asses off for Latent Hewitt and after the games we hung, and they had some. Good stuff

Nice info yeah right in try anything once but then again i stick with what i like. Need a fresh environment to get some new goodies in my belly. Where does a man need to be to eat balls?

I heard a story on the radio this morning about traveling in China. The advice was to try everything AND THEN ask what it is. If you like it before knowing that it's something that would offend your cultural sensibilities, then you can expand those sensibilities.

I heard a story on the radio this morning about traveling in China. The advice was to try everything AND THEN ask what it is. If you like it before knowing that it's something that would offend your cultural sensibilities, then you can expand those sensibilities.